The Romulan War Stories: 1 - The Changing Face of Evil
by BonesBird
Summary: Less than a year after Enterprise destroyed the first Romulan drone ship. Hostilities in the region come to a head as the fledgling and struggling Earth Alliance begins forming her trade and defence agreements. First in series.
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is the first chapter in both a new story and a new series of stories charting the Romulan War. It's focused on _Enterprise_ and _Columbia._ I hope you enjoy it. Shin.**

**Historian's Note: This chapter is set roughly 2 weeks after the end of my story "Location: Unknown" and roughly 6 months after the ENT episode "Terra Prime".**

* * *

_**August 18th, 2155.**_

Jonathan Archer had no option but to agree with his fellow captain when she spoke about their current mission. It wasn't quite the way he would have phrased it, but Erika had always had a way with words that he'd lacked. Or maybe it was a way with sarcasm. He was never quite sure. "You know this is pointless."

"Erika." He chastised her, but he didn't fool her for a moment with his feeble attempt at asserting his superiority.

"You agree with me. I can tell." She pulled a face and he wondered if he could read his mind, the thought at once amused and terrified him, especially considering that they weren't always the most professional when they were together.

He shook his head, determined not to fall into the hole she had dug for him, it would have been far easier to admit that she was right, but he felt the need to toe the line. "Even if I did, it wouldn't really be up to me to say anything, would it?" He pointed out, and he had no idea how to describe the look of shocked horror and confusion that crossed her face, he couldn't help but smile at it. She wasn't used to seeing her look completely speechless. The longer she fought for words the more amused he got until it was obvious that she was getting more frustrated by him than by the initial conversation. He allowed himself another mental snapshot of her face before thinking of what to say. "What would you have me do?" He asked her, this time seriously.

She took a minute and a deep breath, a movement he could happily watch her take again. It was obvious she caught his look, or she read his mind again, either was possible. She shook her head gently at him before speaking. "You have political pull that I don't."

"Rike." He said quietly. Not sure exactly what she was implying but whatever way it could go he wasn't necessarily impressed with. He knew enough that he wouldn't be able to change their current mission profiles, however boring they were.

"Sorry. I know. I'm just fed up."

He had to smile at the honesty in that answer, and he couldn't ignore the scuttlebutt that had been spreading around _Enterprise_. It wasn't as if they were the only ones feeling the pointlessness of their current situations, nor feeling annoyed at the admiralty for keeping them away from the reasons that _Enterprise _and _Columbia_ had even been built. "I think half my crew feels the same."

"I think half of Starfleet feels the same." She muttered almost under her breath, but he couldn't help but agree. They all knew that hostilities with the Romulans or Klingons or even the Orions was a big possibility, especially the Orions. He heard her sigh before she asked the next question of him, one that was harder for him to answer than he'd expected. "Jonathan, what are we doing out here chasing sensor ghosts?"

"I think Starfleet are still testing you, and they just don't want me far away from Earth."

He saw something pass behind her eyes, and he knew immediately that he'd said the wrong thing, even though it was probably the most accurate reasons for why they were still so close to Earth. "Why would they be testing me?" Erika asked a few minutes later after clearly trying to think things through in her own mind.

He sighed and ran a palm over his face. He didn't want to think about it, and he didn't want to be the one reminding her of it, but he knew that was what she was asking, and if she didn't then this time it was not going to work for him. "It's only been 5 months since what happened with the Orions."

"I've been cleared for duty." She muttered like a scolded child.

The innocence implied in her response made him smile, and he wasn't quite sure why. There had always been a problem with wanting to look after her, something that had been helpful almost half a year earlier, but not so much now. "I know, I'm not testing you, I'm just telling you a possible reason for Starfleet to be treating you this way." He gave the official meaning before pushing his own worries. "You are doing alright though?"

She shook her head and he knew he was pushing it with her. She hated being coddled, and he was the worst one for it. "I'm alright, Jon. I still have flashbacks, but they are manageable. I'm not calling you in the middle of the night anymore."

He smiled at her, sensing a chance to change the topic of the conversation away from skirmishes, Starfleet and Orions to something that was more personal to the both of them, he sat forward a little, dropping his voice to more private tones. "Truth be told, I miss those calls."

The cheeky smile that crossed her face was a welcome change from the serious expression she'd had. "I think that's the closest you've come to saying you miss me since we left Earth."

"I thought I implied that I miss you all the time." He joked, knowing that they'd always tried to keep things light when they'd had an audience, and they could never be certain who was listening to these calls, not that their relationship was all that much of a secret any longer.

"Implication and statement are two different things." She teased, the silly smirk still on her face, and he knew that this was the perfect time to remind her that he really did miss her.

"Well then, I miss you. Happy now?"

"Very." She beamed, and he felt his own smile growing as hers became hard to ignored.

"You could have said it back."

"My mother told me I shouldn't tell lies." He narrowed his eyes as her face split into a sarcastic grin, he knew exactly the game she was playing. "Of course I miss you. When do you think Starfleet might give us some new orders?"

"When the Romulans make an overt attack." He answer even as he heard the chime on her end of the call.

"Probably, hold on a moment." He sat back and watched her talk, she'd muted the audio, something they'd both taken to doing if they were called to ships' business while talking. He was still studying her face, the frown that she had when something wasn't quite going to plan, or when something was worrying her. He could read her far easier than anyone else, and whatever she was being told wasn't good news. He saw her grim nod as she ended whatever call she'd got and frowned at the screen as the audio re-established. "Another possible skirmish. We're an hour away but still the closest ship."

They immediately switched back into Captain mode, and he instantly missed the intimacy of the earlier conversation. "Be careful Rike." He told her, trying to ignore the worry that settled in his stomach.

"I always am Jon." She smiled a little, and he had the feeling that had they been close enough she would have patted his cheek.

"I love you." He blurted before he'd even thought about it.

"You too. Call you when we next have chance?"

"I'll be waiting."

"Oh, not as if you have a ship to run or anything." She quipped and ended the call. He found himself studying the screen long after her image had faded, considering the woman who had filled it. He knew that she was one of the most formidable captains and strategists in Starfleet, but he still worried about her whenever he knew _Columbia_ was headed for danger. He had no reason to be, but he was.

He had spent most of the last 2 decades involved with her, one way or another, and it made him more sensitive to her moods, and he did worry about her still after her ordeal at the hands of the Orion thugs, she played it off but he knew that she wasn't as adjusted as she pretended to be. But she was determined to deal with it herself now, and he couldn't blame her. He also couldn't blame her for being fed up with their current assignments, it wasn't as if he was enjoying it, but patrol routes were at least predictable, and every few weeks he and Erika would be close enough for a dinner, and _Columbia_ would be close enough for him to see her out of his viewport. Knowing that made space seem smaller. In a good way. He needed his allies as close as they could be. There was a war coming.


	2. Chapter 2

**OK folks. I'm really sorry if this is slow updated the next few days. I've ended up catching a quite nasty bug, and I'm sleeping all the time. **

* * *

_**20th September, 2155**_

The news he was being given wasn't necessarily the best he'd ever gotten. It wasn't the worst, and he appreciated what she was telling him, it wasn't every day that he was given a hint to orders more than a week before they'd officially be given. He should have known that Erika would have asked about Enterprise's mission when she got Columbia's orders. That didn't make him feel better about yet another baby sitting assignment, and this one wasn't even on the move. "Why do I feel like I've been given the safe option again?" He asked, and while the question was rhetorical he wasn't surprised that she tried to answer, the grin on her face telling him she was trying to lighten the mood.

"I have no idea Jonathan."

He couldn't help but smile when he looked at her, her grin was infectious, and she had technically been doing him a favour by letting him know so far in advance. "Thanks for your heads up Erika. How long are you at Earth?" He asked, Enterprise was close enough that he hoped she'd still be there when they arrived, not that it was guaranteed. He hadn't seen her in more than a month, and while that wasn't uncommon, he missed her.

She picked a PADD up and read something on it, probably a status report. "Another week for some upgrades, when is Enterprise due back."

"10 days." He replied a little sadly. Only a matter of days put paid to his hope. It couldn't be too long before they got to spend a little bit of time together. He had accepted this was how it was going to be for them though.

Her frown seemed to grow as she processed his answer. "We're going to miss each other again. We'll probably pass each other on our way out of the system." She said, a touch of bitterness in her voice. She leant back a little, and he saw the familiar view of a dark San Francisco out of the window. A very familiar view too.

"Yeah, wait are you in my apartment?"

"You gave me a key, and I still haven't bought a new one." She defended, and he remembered her annoyance a month earlier when she found out the apartment building she'd lived in since they'd met was going to be torn down. She'd had to ask her brother to clear out her apartment for her, and since then she'd been putting off buying a new place, claiming she was on Earth so little she'd rather just borrow his place. At which point he had given her a key and told her to use it any time.

"You're lucky I like you." He teased, and he sensed the relief when she started smiling again. "What time is it there?" He asked, wondering if he was keeping her up. He'd be glad when the ship was back in spacedock so they could readjust the time.

"Almost midnight, and I'm at command at 8."

"Go to bed. Call me tomorrow, if you get chance." He smiled, knowing she needed to get some sleep, but desperately wanting to keep her on the line. This was the longest they'd had chance to speak in days.

"I will. Night."

"Sleep well." He smiled as she blew a kiss through the screen, once her face had faded he sat back in the chair, brooding on the news she had given him at the start of the call. It was one of the most boring assignments he could have thought of. He was jolted from his thoughts when the door chime sounded.

"Come in." He yelled, wondering who would be coming in at this time. It was early enough in the morning that most people left him alone to deal with the minute of being the captain.

Trip's usual cocky half-grin met him when he looked up, and it didn't take long for the engineer to figure out something was up. "You look miserable."

"I just got off with Erika." He motioned at the screen, and an almost imperceptible smirk grew on Trip's face.

"Well, that half explains it." He made a face as if telling Jon to go on with what was really bothering him.

"She gave me a heads up of our next orders from Starfleet."

"Oh, how would she know?" He asked, and Jon wondered whether he should be honest, or whether he should say it was classified. Trip knew Erika though, or at least well enough to know that she didn't do anything without a reason.

"She's nosy and asked after she was given Columbia's."

"What are we doing?"

"We've been added to the defensive fleet at Starbase One." He sighed, and Trip's face looked something like what he imagined his had done when Erika had said.

"Really? What are Starfleet thinking!" Trip thundered, dropping onto the sofa.

"Apparently. I feel like we've been given the safe option."

"What's Columbia doing?"

"She's going to be running medical and humanitarian supplies." Jon admitted, and shook his head, unsure if he really wished to change places with Erika, because he knew she'd be just as bored by the Starbase One assignment as he was.

"They definitely got the more exciting job."

"And the riskier." He admitted, and something flickered behind Trip's eyes before he spoke again.

"Are you jealous, or worried?"

"Can't I be both?" Jon laughed, wondering which it actually was. He wanted to say that it was all jealousy, but he probably was worried. Something Erika would laugh at him for, and remind him that she had the exact same training he did, and she often won the argument about experiences too.

"I suppose, but it'll be annoying. How is Captain Hernandez after everything that happened." Trip looked concerned for a moment. They were all aware that it had only been a little over 6 months since they'd rescued her from the Orions, and it was something that had profoundly affected every member of both crews.

"She's coping. She denies it but she still has flashbacks sometimes. Though the 2am calls have tapered off considerably the last couple of months."

"You two finally figured out where you were then?" Trip asked with a grin, and Jon had to control himself not to drop his jaw. It was true, Trip always knew more than he was supposed too.

"How the hell did you figure that out?"

"I know you, and I know her, and you make a good couple, rooting for you. You both deserve to be happy."

"Thanks Trip."

"I suppose if we are getting mindless orders I might as well go get my engines ready."

"I have Texas against North Carolina for tonight."

"I'll be here." The engineer smiled as he turned and headed out of the ready room. Jon went back to focusing on the screen, wondering if it was worth calling Starfleet. He had known Erika long enough to completely trust her judgement when it came to the orders, but he now wanted confirmation. Or maybe he just wanted to talk to someone. It had only been half an hour since they hung up, maybe she'd still be awake. She was a captain, he was sure she could live on only an hour or two sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_**November 19th, 2155**_

Sleep was a luxury she didn't get very often these days. When it seemed like there was going to be five quiet moments she'd climb onto her bunk and close her eyes. Some nights she would even still be counting when there was a call. Tonight was not one of those nights. She'd been in the middle of a rather interesting dream, when she was roused by the now famous words of her XO. Erika once again wondered if her friend ever slept. "Bridge to Captain Hernandez." She rolled over as the message was repeated and hit the contact on the headboard above of her.

"What?" She snapped unintentionally. She'd always been a bit cranky when she was woken up.

"We could use you up here." Veronica's voice was taunt with worry, and Erika wondered what fresh hell was about to descend on them.

"Why?"

"Romulans on long range." They were the four magic words. The minute they were out of Veronica's mouth Erika was fully awake and already pulling some fresh skivvies out of the drawer under her bed.

"I'll be there in a minute." She confirmed before closing the channel. Pulling a fresh uniform on, and dragging her hair into the standard ponytail she wore now. Once she had made more effort controlling her hair for duty, but now whatever it did was what it did, she had more things to worry about than how her hair looked. She all but ran the corridor between her quarters and the turbolift that would take her to the ships' nerve centre on A-Deck. The moment the doors opened and Veronica looked over her shoulder she got up from the chair and took a few steps towards her. "Report."

"Two warbirds on the long range scanners, catching up to us fast."

Erika did some quick sums in her head. They were around 13 hours from Deneva at the top speed they could go right now, which wouldn't be fast enough to outrun the Romulans, so there weren't many options she could think of. Despite their convoy of three Starfleet vessels, their two companions weren't fast enough nor manoeuvrable enough to be of much help in a battle. As she thought about it, an obvious plan formed in her mind. "_Intrepid_ and _Lovell_ have all the medical supplies for Deneva, don't they?"

"Yes, we transferred them on your order yesterday."

"Tell them to make a break for the planet. Slow us down." She knew the order wouldn't necessarily be the most popular order she'd ever given, but she knew that it was both the only way to stop the Romulans and get the medical supplies to where they were needed most.

"Captain?" Veronica asked almost immediately, stepping closer to the command chair.

"We've got a better chance of holding off the Romulans than they do. Deneva need those supplies."

Veronica mulled that over, and it was obvious that after a few seconds she came to the same conclusion. "Yes sir." She muttered, and moved off to start looking over Kiona Thayer's shoulder at the tactical console, the two women talking quietly.

A thought occurred as she stood herself up, still knowing the Romulans were a few minutes away as _Columbia_ veered away from the other two ships. Erika walked toward the communications station, putting her hand on Sidra's shoulder as she arrived there. "Can you put a call through to Starfleet."

"What do you want?" Sidra asked, clearly asking what the call was going to be about. Erika wasn't entirely sure what the actual message should be, but if she gave Sidra the basic outline of what she needed, she was sure that the very talented comm officer would come up with something appropriate.

"I want to launch a comm beacon, basic ship in distress call designed to broadcast in 24 hours if we've not picked it up. Only on Starfleet channels, maybe include Vulcan and Andorian channels."

"I'm sure I can do that." She smiled and went straight to working her console, Erika was aware of Veronica's presence over her shoulder as she gave Sidra a few final orders before turning back to her centre seat to prepare a plan for battle.

"Include our projected co-ordinates, but drop it as soon as so the Romulans don't use it for some target practice."

Veronica fell into step beside her as she walked toward the back of the bridge, the XO shook her head and whistled in appreciation. "Ingenious idea."

Erika felt a grim smile grow on her cheeks, almost ready to laugh a little. "Always the tone of surprise." She teased, Veronica had known Erika longer than almost anyone, and even so she always seemed surprised when Erika did something unexpected. "I have one or two tricks they don't teach you in flight school."

"That doesn't surprise me. Is this one of Jonathan's tricks?" Veronica asked, quietly. Looking over the bridge from their positions behind the command chair.

"Please, I think he's called for help twice in his career. Nope, this one is all mine. Get it done, Ron." She ordered, taking her seat again and leaning forward, mentally running probability statistics and battle scenarios in her head. She'd been in several skirmishes now with lone warbirds, but never two at once, and the stats for that were not necessarily encouraging. She knew that the most she could do now was let her crew do their jobs. A short while later the proximity sensors drew her attention, pulling her from her thoughts, she looked up to Kiona who nodded, the Romulans were close. "How are our friends doing?"

"They are a half a lightyear away. The beacon is also away." Kiona reported.

"Alright, hail the Romulans." She looked in Sidra's direction as she stood up in front of her chair, putting on what Jon called her "serious Captain" face. "Romulan vessels. This is Captain Erika Hernandez of the United Earth Starship _Columbia_. You are breaching our sovereign space, if you do not withdraw immediately we will have no choice but to open fire."

A full thirty seconds passed before Sidra confirmed what Erika's ears were already telling her. "No response Captain."

"They are holding course."

She growled, knowing in that moment that _Columbia_ was headed for battle whether they wanted it or not. "Damn, there should be enough distance to the other ships put the Romulans off. Sound the alert. Polarise the hull plating and charge weapons. Veronica, can you go and give Karl a hand in engineering." She knew that was where her XO would be the most help right now. It was time for her to put her improvised battle plan into effect, and hope that she hadn't vastly underestimated the Romulan ships. "Brynn, we'll need your finesse for this, I want you to move us directly between the two ships. Kiona, target their known weak spots."

Both officers nodded without comment, and she sat down again, knowing that within minutes they would be engaging. Sure enough, not even a full minute later the first shots were fired, and Erika could see the battle unfolding in front of her. It was almost as if she were watching a colossal game of chess, and it wasn't going exactly as she'd planned. Though it was obvious they had gotten through the shielding, the Romulans were getting twice the good hits on them as they were getting.

"Plating down to 70%" Kiona shouted over the sounds of the various damaged systems that filled the bridge.

"Keep on it Brynn, Kiona, keep firing, you'll get them before long." She tried to reassure her officers, both of whom seemed to be struggling with what they had been tasked to do.

She continued watching, and as one of the enemy ships imploded, she had to fight the urge to join the joyous outburst from several of the other bridge officers. "One destroyed, but the other is coming round for another attack."

"Knew it couldn't be that easy, at least one on one is fairer. Just keep firing." She said in a steady voice. Trying to keep her officers calm and focused on their jobs. It wasn't the easiest of situations they were in now, and she could feel how sluggish _Columbia_ was already. No doubt because of the damage belowdecks.

"Polarisation down to critical, captain! We're losing the aft plating" Kiona shouted, Erika focused on the main screen again before giving her next order.

"These bastards aren't getting home. Take them out with us if you need Kiona." The grim mood that settled on the bridge after those words didn't surprise her. While she knew that none of her crew were especially looking forward to the battles, they knew that their job was to keep the ships going to Deneva safe. At least if their beacon got word out, there would be a ship eventually to either rescue them or recover the wreckage. She hoped it would be the former, but as another barrage hit her ship, throwing her from her chair, she knew that it was possible this was a lost cause. As another strike hit the ship she was thrown against the base of her own chair, and she felt the universe go black around her.


	4. Chapter 4

_**23rd/24th November, 2155:**_

It hadn't been a long lunch, but it had been something he'd sorely needed, just a few hours away from the hustle and bustle of every day ship operations. T'Pol had already gone back to the Bridge, leaving just he and Trip to finish off the meal. "So have you heard from Captain Hernandez?" Trip asked conversationally, but Jon noticed the subtle pull in his voice. This wasn't a casual question, however hard Trip wanted to make him think it was.

"Why?"

Trip sat forward and clasped his hands together, yet another sign that the engineer was worried about something. "There is a rumour by the engineers Columbia's been destroyed."

He shook his head, almost certain that he would have heard something if that were the case. Last time Erika had been reported missing he'd known within 24 hours. "I think we'd probably have heard something if that was the case."

"Crewman Samson has a brother on Columbia, nobody's heard from them in four days." Trip sounded as concerned as Jon himself suddenly was. It had been a while since he'd spoken to Erika, arranging their usual weekly check in with the other active captains, and then taking a few minutes themselves afterwards to just talk about anything not related to the war.

"I'll check it out Trip. I haven't spoken to Erika this week, I thought she was just busy." He admitted to his friend, shaking his head as the crewmen cam to clear the table while the officers went back to work. They both held their tongue while they walked the corridor, until they separated off, each headed for a different turbolift.

"Can you tell me if you find anything out?" Trip asked before he went on his own way.

Jon nodded, still in a world of his own. "Of course." He muttered, then drifted to the bridge, ordering Hoshi to get him Admiral Gardner. Sam was a friend, they had all served together during the NX programme, and Sam had gotten his Captain stripes at the same time as Jon himself, only, Sam had specialised in something, and managed to wangle his way up to Admiral.

Sam's face was as serious as it ever was when he got an unexpected call from one of his Captains, but Jon didn't feel like he needed to apologise for the unscheduled call. "What's happened to Columbia?" He asked without even a hello, Sam pulled a face, but Jon was sure he remembered how close they'd all once been. They would all be worried about Erika and her ship. He was sure of that.

"Nothing, so far as we can tell, but we also can't contact her."

"That's not like Erika." He muttered, and it was clear from Sam's face that the Admiral was in much the same position when it came to Erika's idea of 'checking in'. She was never late, and she never skimped on the detail.

"I know, we heard from the Intrepid and the Lovell. Both mission reports match. Captain Hernandez ordered them to continue to Deneva while Columbia engaged the Romulans. We've had no contact with her since."

"When was that?" He asked, needing to know exactly how long it had been since Columbia had officially been in contact with anyone.

"The 19th." Sam admitted, and Jonathan couldn't help but slam a fist to the table. 4 days. It had been four days since anyone had heard from Columbia and nobody had thought to contact him, to get Enterprise looking for her sibling.

"It's the 23rd!"

"We're doing all we can." Sam tried to calm him, but that old platitude wasn't going to be enough. It wasn't just Erika. It was everything about this situation. Starfleet could least afford to lose a ship right now. Any ship. Least of all an NX class flagship.

"Send Enterprise to look for her." He suggested somewhat forcefully, and he knew that wasn't really going to wash with Sam. He would do what he thought was best for everyone involved, Columbia and Starfleet.

"You know we can't do that." He muttered shaking his head, but there was something in his voice that told Jonathan the cause wasn't yet over. He could still push this a little, and Sam would fold, as he had before.

"Why not? We don't have a mission profile at the moment, we're just patrolling. We can't lose an NX ship, Sam."

"I know." Jonathan almost heard the sigh from the other side of the screen despite the Admiral's obvious attempts to hide it. "If Enterprise happened to be scanning Columbia's frequency and happen upon any information about her whereabouts."

"I'll get Ensign Sato on it right away."

"And Jonathan. Don't forget these are dangerous times." Sam said before signing off. Jon dropped a hand to the comm panel and relayed the relevant orders to Hoshi. He hoped that she'd be able to find something.

As the hours dragged into the following day he began to lose hope, wondering if this time even Hoshi's ear wasn't good enough for this task. It was almost impossible, he knew that, but he also knew the entire crew wanted to help.

Suddenly, just as he was brooding that maybe he needed to give the order to stop, Hoshi looked up and motioned him over to her console. "Captain."

"Yes, Hoshi?"

"I think I have something sir. It's low frequency but it's a ship in distress call, and it carried Columbia's signature." He smiled as he gently squeezed her shoulder in congratulation. He learnt again that he was to never give up on the translator.

"Can you get us some co-ordinates."

"I'll give them to Travis. We all have friends on Columbia, sir."

"I know Hoshi. Call me up when we're approaching the co-ordinates." He was certain that hiding away in his ready room wasn't going to do much for his crew morale or even his own, but it was too hard for him to stay on the Bridge when his own emotions were in turmoil. He had almost lost Erika once already this year. Surely twice within 12 months was too much trauma to put anyone through.

He held onto hope that Columbia would live up to the reputation she had, and he knew that the combat skills Erika had gained would no doubt have seen them through. But he was still going to worry until he knew that they were safe, and that Erika was OK.


	5. Chapter 5

_**November 26th, 2155**_

Jon sat forward, trying to see more than the sensors were telling them. Only because he wanted to know what he was getting into. Did they need to drop out of warp with their weapons charged and begin looking for the black box, or would they be finding a friend when they stopped, a ship needing their help. He was still debating what might have happened when Travis spoke, jolting him suddenly from his reverie. "Coming up on the co-ordinates."

"Anything on scanners?" He asked, standing up and walking over towards T'Pol, hoping that she would be able to see something now. Long range scanners had picked up little aside from debris, but he hoped that the short range and T'Pol's eye would be able to tell him something new.

She looked in her scanner, her eyes clearly reading the information in it. "Debris, and a ship."

"Can you tell the ship?"

"Not from this distance."

"Damn." He turned away, not sure if it was in annoyance that T'Pol couldn't tell him exactly what they were looking at, or in anger that he still had to wait to find out what had happened to _Columbia_ and her crew. He met eyes with everyone on the bridge, and saw the same battle going on in each of them. They all just wanted to find their colleagues and friends.

"Do you think it's _Columbia_?" Hoshi asked a few minutes later, Jon wasn't sure if the question was aimed at him or at T'Pol, he

"I certainly hope so, ensign." He smiled lightly at her, and walked back to his centre seat, he didn't take the seat, just stood beside it and looked at the viewscreen, desperately hoping that he would see something that would prove it was _Columbia_. The closer they got the longer he held off calling for another check. Finally, ten minutes later he couldn't stop himself, they were only minutes from arriving. "T'Pol?"

"It appears to be _Columbia_." She confirmed a second later, and Jon let out a slight sigh of relief, at least she was intact, or at least whole.

"Can you get lifesign readings?" He asked, thinking that maybe he was being too hopeful.

"When we arrive."

The view that greeted them when they dropped out of warp was far worse than he could have imagined, had he not had faith in Erika's ability, he would have mistaken _Columbia_ for an old derelict. "Damn." He heard Travis utter ahead of him, he put his hand gently on the helmsman's shoulder and squeezed lightly before stopping again.

"How are they keeping her together?" Malcolm asked, and with that Jon span round toward his tactical officer, he recognised it was a valid question, but he didn't think a senior officer asking it was the best for morale.

He didn't have time to respond, instead Trip defended his former ship. "_Columbia_'s a tough ship Mal. Just like _Enterprise_."

"No offence Trip, but I think if _Enterprise_ took that much damage, even you might have trouble keeping her in one piece." Malcolm shot back, and Jon just looked between the two officers, shaking his head to show that possibly it wasn't the best idea to continue with that conversation.

"Let's leave the speculation aside. T'Pol, biosigns?" He asked her, hoping that there wouldn't have been too many casualties.

She paused a second longer than he'd been expecting, and when she looked up he knew it wasn't going to be good news. "24."

"Only 24?" He felt his jaw hitting the floor and wanting to shake his head. He'd lost crew before, and he knew he probably would again, but the enormity of that number shocked him.

"Didn't _Columbia_ have a complement the same as _Enterprise_." Hoshi asked, and as Jon looked over in her direction he could already see the tears on her face.

"83." Trip confirmed, and the entire bridge crew dropped their heads respectfully. He let a minute of silence pass by, the least they could do for their fallen comrades.

"There will be time to mourn later. Prep a shuttle Travis. Trip. Let's go give them a hand."

He wasn't quite as prepared as he thought he'd been for the damage internally to _Columbia_. He walked through the airlock and climbed over pieces of bulkhead and support pylons. He tried to look past it, but he worried about what they would even be able to do, or if _Columbia_ was even salvageable in this condition. He knew that if Enterprise were in this bad a condition, he'd set a command centre up in engineering. It was central to the ship, and he'd know of all the repairs as they were happening. He stepped through the door and the first thing he could hear was Erika's voice.

"I want the lights on by alpha shift." They weren't close enough to hear the response given, but he heard Erika's snap. At least he knew she was alive, long before he saw her. "I don't care, Ensign. There has to be something we can do."

"Erika." He said as they came round the corner and he saw her, shouting orders at her crew. He couldn't blame her for her loss of control, he probably would have been much the same in her position.

"Oh god, Jonathan!" She exclaimed, taking a few steps and throwing her arms around him. He held her tightly, smiling as he noticed the averted eyes of their subordinates. All trying to ignore their captain's slight loss of control. He knew the damage that could do to a crews morale, so he pulled her out of the engine room to a small service junction a little way away. "You've seen the damage?"

"As soon as we arrived, we also got a head count." He started, but he didn't really need to tell her that, and he could see that she was trying not to focus on that.

"I've lost almost three quarters of my crew, I know."

"Senior staff?" He asked, wondering if she'd have to be without some of those she would need most in this kind of situation. He couldn't imagine being in trouble with Enterprise and not having his senior officers around him.

"We lost Karl. Veronica was badly injured but she's recovering in sickbay now, still sedated but out of danger. I lost all my engineers though, all aside from Rivers who was on bridge detail." He nodded a little, glad to hear that his former officer had made it through what had clearly been a trying few days for _Columbia_ and her crew.

"We'll lend you a few officers. What happened?"

"You need to ask, Romulans."

"I should have known." He trailed off and studied her, this time as a lover rather than a fellow officer. She looked as if she'd lost weight, and the worry and stress lines on her face had gotten deeper. Not to mention the bags under her eyes. "How are you? When did you last sleep?"

She smiled softly at him, as if recognising the change in his demeanour. "Properly? When I was unconscious after the battle so, 5 days ago."

"Rike." He shook his head, knowing that something was still up with her.

"I was knocked out, I'm fine. I was passed fit for duty." Clearly the look he gave her had her reconsidering her position. "I've napped, and _Columbia_ has needed her captain more than I've needed sleep." He couldn't disagree with her there. She knew her duty.

"OK. I worried about you." He told her honestly, pulling her close again and kissing her gently before letting go and looking down at her.

"I worried about me too." She muttered, and at the grin on her face he laughed and wrapped his arms around her tighter, glad for one more moment of privacy. He lifted her chin and studied her face for a few seconds, memorising every new mark that had appeared. While she looked tired and worried, she was alive. He knew that it may not have been the best thing for him to do, but he'd known that he, somehow, had had to find _Columbia_. More for his own peace of mind than anything. Now that he had seen Erika, and seen how damaged and broken _Columbia_ was, his mind turned to helping her repair her systems. He gave Erika a final tight squeeze, smiling as she buried her head into the crook of his neck for a second longer. The second they stepped apart they knew that their only private time was over, they were back in command.


	6. Chapter 6

_**December 18th, 2155**_

He watched as Erika grimaced. He didn't blame her, he had never relished giving the negative reports, but he also knew that, for a captain, it was a big part of the psychological healing process. Handing or sending the reports to command. It was the most hated part, but also the most necessary. "I'm not going to enjoy doing this." She groaned, and he tried not to laugh. He knew that she was mostly blowing off steam before she needed to be serious.

"Probably not, but your subspace array isn't going to be operational for another couple of weeks, and you need to be the one to transmit the casualty and damage reports."

"Can't you do it for me?"

"No. You need to do this yourself." He leant forward and kissed her lightly before moving back, stopping himself from hugging her, mindful that they were waiting on the Admirals picking up. "Do you want me to stay?" He asked, not sure if he would have been able to give a report as serious as Columbia's with an audience.

"You might as well, you never know. Gardner and Black might have orders for you too."

"I hope not." He smiled a little and moved away as the image on the screen started changing.

"Captain Hernandez?" Jon couldn't see the Admiral's face, but he got the sense of surprise in Sam's voice as he'd answered.

"Yes, sir."

"I was expecting Captain Archer."

"He's here sir, but since the damage on Columbia has stopped us sending a transmission he kindly lent me his ready room to file our casualty and damage reports." She looked to him out of the corner of her eye, and he gave her an almost imperceptible thumbs up.

"How bad did the Romulans hit you, Captain?" The new voice was that of Admiral Black, Sam's superior, and the one who had suddenly started getting more and more involved in the NX ships' missions.

"Badly, sir. We lost 60 crew, with 2 still in a critical condition. We only have life support on three decks, up from two with Enterprise's help." She smiled a little at that, and he knew she was looking at promoting Rivers to chief engineer when they got back to Earth. The only surviving member of Columbia's engineering corps had definitely shone in the last month, trying to get Columbia into any sort of working order for them to even begin working on the engines.

"How quickly can you get back to Earth?"

"We don't have propulsion yet sir, and Enterprise can't generate a large enough warp field to tow us 18 light years. We're stuck until we get propulsion back." Erika's grim news, delivered with a hint of humour, seemed to be completely lost on the Admirals.

"Make that a priority. Everything else can be dealt with when you get here."

"It could still take weeks, Admiral. I've sent our full casualty and damage lists."

"Good, did you say Captain Archer was with you?"

At that he stepped forward and leaned over Erika's shoulder, keeping a professional distance as he did, but sliding a hand onto her leg to steady himself as he did. "I'm here sir."

"Good, I'll only have to make this call once with you being together. There have been some large developments on our end. Next time the Romulans attack, there could be help coming from the Andorians or the Tellarites."

The two captains shared a look, and Jonathan knew she was thinking the same as him. Last news from home they'd gotten, the Coalition was months, if not years, away from beginning a defence pact. The trading pact was still barely dry. "I thought the Coalition weren't ready to share military resources yet?"

"They weren't, until there were co-ordinated Romulan strikes on the capitals of both Andoria and Tellar. They signed protection treaties with Earth last week."

"Let me guess, the Vulcans are still playing hardball." Erika muttered, apparently just loud enough for the microphone to pick her up.

"Of course they are. Get back to work Captains. You know how important your ships are. We can spare you both while you effect some repairs on Columbia, but we need you home. Soon as you can."

"Aye sir." They both said the same as the picture on the screen darkened. He stood up and began pacing as Erika leant back in the chair just watching him. After a few minutes he turned back to her with a question. "Why would they attack Andoria and Tellar?"

"Maybe the Romulans are stepping up the game." Erika hypothesised, and he had to admit she was probably right. If this was all some gigantic play for domination, an attack on Earth's allies would be the next step.

"Maybe they aren't as fixated on Earth as we thought they were."

"Maybe not. Though it's still my ship that they almost destroyed." The bitterness and anger in her voice told him that she was unlikely to ever forgive the Romulans for what had gone on, and maybe she'd never be able to forgive herself for not seeing the attack coming, or seeing a better way to fight them.

"You stopped them, Erika."

"I know." She whispered, still with that same loathing and anger under her words.

"Look, it's late, why don't we get some dinner and talk about these developments, in private" He smiled, crew quarters on Columbia were powered down, meaning that the remaining crew were cabin sharing on Enterprise. That included the Captains. Jonathan was never going to lie, waking up with Erika in his arms was a rare luxury, something that he wasn't going to give up without a fight. Nobody had questioned the arrangement yet, he was sure if command knew about it, somebody would. For now though, he would continue to enjoy it. "We have a lot of things to sort out."

"We do, including how we go about getting Columbia flying again." She smiled, and he knew that she had caught his meaning, about both parts of his statement.

"That's definitely something we need to discuss, but lets not forget everything else. We'll get your girl going Erika, I promise." He smiled as she patted his cheek in a manner that told him she knew he would try his very best. They both wanted Columbia to be at the top of her game, because they would probably be pushing her very hard again soon. Judging by the Admirals report, the Romulans were stepping up their agenda, and Starfleet needed to be ready.


	7. Chapter 7

_**February 3rd 2156**_

She climbed over yet another broken bulkhead that had piled on the interior of Columbia's airlock, Glad that on the other side of the door Jonathan was there to take her hand. The damage to Columbia's hatch had lead to a far lengthier docking procedure than they were used too, but the second they had docked, she had started making her way out, and a team of 15 engineers had raced passed her. The only officers remaining on Columbia were those waiting for station personnel to relieve them. "I bet you've never felt so happy to alight at Jupiter station?"

She nodded in his direction, unhappy that she had left the dockmaster in control of her ship, but Columbia needed the TLC that only the dock workers could provide. "I have to admit, having the engineering teams already working on Columbia is nice. I don't need to worry about her falling apart now." She smiled as they set off down the corridor, she knew they were just walking. Wasting a few minutes together. A little way down the corridor they stopped at a viewport, she could look out and see all the damage that still marred Columbia's hull. She felt Jon's hand on her shoulder as she looked out on it. She had seen the damage in little pieces, from the viewports on Enterprise. She had purposefully avoided the bridge so she could avoid this image. "Oh, my poor girl." She muttered, and she felt Jon's gentle squeeze. No doubt he would have a similar reaction if it was Enterprise.

"When is your debriefing?"

She looked up at him, glad of the change of subject. "Tomorrow afternoon, yours?"

"Tomorrow morning, I'm going to be there for yours I think."

"Ah memories, when I was the one auditing your debriefs." She needled him a little, wishing that it was still that way around, only because she missed watching him lose his temper. It had always made his debriefings more interesting.

"You do more than audit my briefs." He whispered, and all of a sudden the shocked look that spread on his face told her far more about what that comment was meant to be. She couldn't help but laugh, and after a second or two he chuckled. "I have no idea why I said that."

"You've been spending too much time with Trip." She laughed, shaking her head and thinking about what she had planned while they were on Earth. "I also agreed to a meet-and-great with the families of those who died in the attack at headquarters the day after tomorrow." She knew she still sounded a little bitter, but she couldn't help it. She had had such high hopes, and such a good crew, returning them home in caskets was not what had been in her plan.

Jonathan clearly read something in her face, he turned her round a little more and studied her. "Want me to come with you for that?"

"You don't have too, I'll be alright."

"Erika-" He started, but she put a finger to his lips to stop him.

"Look, it's 62 families who lost their loved ones, good men and women who were under my command. The least I can do is see their families and give them my personal condolences, the ones who can make it here, at least."

He nodded, pulling her into a light hug, just enough to remind her that he was there when she needed to talk, just as he had been almost every day since the attack. "It's a nice thing for you to do." He whispered, holding her tighter.

A cough sounded behind them, causing them to jump apart. "Captains." Was said long before either of them had actually even recognised who had snuck up on them.

"Admiral."

"We didn't expect to see you here sir." She tried to recover, smoothing her jumpsuit as if on reflex.

"I wanted to come and see the damage to Columbia myself, you weren't exaggerating were you, captain?"

"I don't tend to exaggerate when it comes to my ship sir." She said, shaking her head and feeling a little annoyed that the admiralty would have thought that she would exaggerate the condition of her ship.

"I've read your logs, Columbia is up for a citation for bravery. Not many crews would be able to bring their ship home with this much damage."

Erika felt her jaw drop, and the look on Jonathan's face was more than a little annoyed. What was it about Admiral Black that rubbed them both the wrong way. "A lot of thanks has to go to Enterprise and her engineers. Without them we'd still be out there." She said, and Jonathan's hand, still on her shoulder, squeezed thankfully.

"You can mention that during your debriefing." The Admiral took a few steps forward and ended up slightly ahead of them, much to Erika's eternal thanks, it meant she had a second to share and incredulous look at Jonathan before asking her next question.

"Where do you think we'll be sent next, sir?"

"I'm sure I don't need to tell either of you that Columbia is set to be drydocked for a while, she's been made the station's top priority. Enterprise however, is likely going to be sent to resume patrolling the shipping lanes."

"Once Columbia is repaired, sir?" She had to ask, even though she knew what the likely answer would be.

"We'll see where we are at that point, Captain. Both ships are on leave for the next week, after your debriefs I recommend you both take it. It might be the last time either of you get leave for some time." Black looked over his shoulder briefly as he reached the berth for what was clearly his shuttle back to Earth. Erika couldn't say she was upset about getting leave, even if it meant she wouldn't necessarily be able to help as much with Columbia's repairs as she'd hoped. As Black gave them both a cheery wave she shared a look with Jon.

"Leave." He stated, and she tried to keep the momentary excitement out of her eyes.

"Both of us." She expanded, and that time she didn't stop her smile, since it was clear he'd had the same idea she'd had. "We are not going diving." She wasn't changing her mind on that. She had been brought up in a desert, she wasn't much of a fan of too much water, especially when she couldn't control what was happening in it.

"Climbing?" He asked, with a glint in his own eye.

"We could always actually spend some time with our families?"

"Only if we go together. I've gotten too used to you sleeping next to me every night."

"We need to break that again. Soon you'll be off patrolling and I'll be here recruiting a new engineering team." She grinned as they continued walking together, hoping that either way they would be able to adjust to not spending every night together, he was right, over the last few months they'd both gotten used to Columbia's situation meaning they were sharing a bed every night. But the war was coming, they could both feel it, and enjoying the last week together could be all they had.


	8. Chapter 8

_**May 21st, 2156**_

The evening's call had taken longer to connect than usual, he wasn't sure, but he was grateful when Erika's face finally filled the screen. There had been a communications spike today, and while he had Hoshi investigating it, he wasn't sure that the answer would come from Enterprise. "Hello there," he muttered, taking in her miserable expression before he said anything else.

"Hey." She replied, and her smile lit her up, making it more obvious how ill she actually looked.

"You look sick?"

She shook her head, and it was obvious that she didn't want to talk about whatever it was that she'd caught. "I've got a touch of the flu. I'm ignoring it."

That was typical of her, and he couldn't help but think about taking care of her, something that he might be home in time to do. "Maybe I'll make it back in time to nurse you back to health."

"You've been recalled?"

"Command apparently thought it best in light of what happened at Berengaria." He shook his head. The fight had been short, the outpost destroyed and the colonists killed. He had known people on the outpost, and he was still sorry about their loss. It had finally brought the Romulans into the focus of Command, and that was what had needed to happen.

Erika's face told another side of the story, as did her next words. "People here are angry Jon, they think Earth is next."

"Paxton would have a field day right now." He growled, thinking of the separatist leader he had helped imprison last year. He was glad that there was no chance of Terra Prime rearing it's head again. It was the last thing anyone needed right now.

"Don't think about that." Erika almost ordered, and he smiled at her for a second, holding her eye as he mentally shook himself.

"Sorry, what else is going on?"

Erika's grin returned, but it was one of grim determination rather than any expression of happiness or excitement. "Command are whipping up a frenzy, trying to get Columbia refitted and Challenger and Discovery ready to go."

"How are they looking?" He asked of their newest sister ships. He was looking forward to having Challenger and Discovery out there to cover his back, while Atlantis and Endeavor were only a few months behind the others. Six NX-class ships. With a possibility for more. The ships originally build for exploring were now being built for defense and attack. He looked back to the screen, where Erika was clearly still thinking about how to respond.

"They're looking good. A bit of an advancement on our old girls. Challenger will be ready to go before our refit is done, Discovery looks like she's having some of the same engine trouble we had." He remembered Columbia's engine trouble, and he remembered how annoyed Erika had been at that point about it all.

The only people who had been more annoyed than Erika when they were having trouble, and they were the Admirals. He felt a sarcastic smile spread on his face, and he was certain that Erika felt something similar. "I bet Black loves that."

"He's gone back to dealing with the coalition, Sam's back on our side."

"That would explain why Douglas called me today."

"There was a large briefing the afternoon." Erika threw out, then shook her head, looking mortified. "I don't think I was meant to say that."

"We have the same security clearance, you were there?"

"I'm the only NX captain in dock, of course I was there."

"Where is Roy?" He asked, the captain of Challenger had been surprisingly absent during their last time in dock too. He remembered hearing that he was in temporary command of Intrepid while Captain Ramirez was on personal leave.

"On Intrepid still, they'll be back next week."

"Can you give me a heads up."

"War is days from being declared Jon. We might as well forget about being explorers."

"We'll do our duty to Earth, Rike, just like we have every day since we joined the fleet."

"Because we have so much other choice." She looked off the screen a second, and he wondered what had attracted her attention. When she looked back a few seconds later he knew something had changed on her end. "I've got to go, I'll call you when I get chance." She ended the comm before he even had chance to say his own farewell, and he wondered what could possibly be happening to Columbia, she was safely ensconsed in the Utopia Planitia dockyards.

"What do you think that was about?" He asked the rhetorical question to Porthos, who cocked his head and yelped, causing Jon to smile at the dogs opinion. "I agree, she's probably got a surprise visit from the admiralty."

"Bridge to Archer." The sound of Hoshi's worried call clearly showing that it hadn't shown his disconnection from Columbia in the comm logs yet, not surprising, and their call had been relatively brief considering what the usually had to discuss.

"Go ahead."

"There's a call for you sir, it's Admiral Gardner."

"Route it down here." He ordered, and this time pulled a shirt on, while he was certain Erika didn't mind speaking to him shirtless, it didn't seem like it was the most professional thing for a work call.

A moment later the Admiral's face filled the screen. "Jonathan," he said by way of greeting, Jonathan tried to keep his face neutral, but he wasn't certain that it worked, they were all worried these days.

"How can I help you Admiral?"

"We've lost Deneva." The grave announcement was delivered with such finality that he almost couldn't believe it was a serious call.

"What?"

"The Romulans claimed her this morning. Can you push your engines, we need you home."

"We'll be there as quickly as we can." He nodded, and now he understood Erika's speedy disconnection minutes earlier, she was probably getting a very similar call, asking her to speed up the refit efforts on Columbia. Earth needed all of her ships out ready to protect the lines.


	9. Chapter 9

**OK, this is the last chapter in this story, the next story is called "The Retaking of Starbase One", and it should be up on Thursday or Friday! Thanks for reading guys!**

* * *

_**June 1st, 2156**_

"_This morning Nathan Samuels confirmed that Earth is now in a state of war with the Romulan Star Empire. The feeling from many in Starfleet is that they should have been given more support during the last 18-months of skirmishes. The noted damages from the recent skirmishes have been the losses of the Cymru, the Wellington and the near destruction of the NX-Class _Columbia_ a little more than six months ago. _Columbia_ is still undergoing repairs at Jupiter Station. Earth's fleet is now being mobilised to protect the outlying colonies. Following the losses of Starbase One on Berengaria VII and the mining station at Deneva, it is felt by many on Earth that this is too little, too late._"

Erika kept her eye on the face of Gannet Brooks as she ended the grim report into the official declaration of war. She was still trying to read between the journalists words when she heard the clattering of a table that told her Jonathan had stood up from his position by the desk and knocked it over. She was still thinking when she finally heard Jon's angry exclamation in the direction of the only other person in the briefing room. "That is what you called us back for?"

She knew that nobody would appreciate that tone of voice, so she tried to admonish him in the calmer way she usually used on him. "Jonathan."

"We knew the war was coming, we've been saying it for over a year. Yet people are acting like this is a new development."

"Jonathan, calm down." She said again, turning to him properly. She could see the anger in his face, it was an anger she shared, one that she knew she could turn around.

"I don't want to-" he started, but at the look on her face he finally trailed off, clearly knowing that another no from him was going to lead to something unpleasant.

"Calm, now." She said again, and was grateful that Sam was letting her deal with it, she wasn't entirely sure if he was there as their old friend, or if he was there as an Admiral of the fleet, either way she didn't care too much. "So, this is why _Columbia_ is suddenly top priority?"

Sam Gardner nodded, getting up from behind the desk he'd been occupying and coming to join the two captains in the middle of the room."Yes. She'll be ready to go by the end of the week."

"That's what Stuart tells me." She agreed, she saw the small smile of pride on Jonathan's face, and she reminded herself that Stuart Rivers had originally been one of his engineers that she'd poached from _Enterprise_ more than 2 years earlier.

"How is he coping as your new chief?" Jon asked, smiling.

"He's good, he learnt a lot under Trip and Karl."

Jon grinned a little, then came to stand beside her, still facing the screen, the new having moved onto something about farming rates in Wales, after a couple of seconds he turned back to Sam and asked the question Erika herself had been dying to ask. "So, why is _Columbia_ top priority."

Sam took a deep breath, and Erika wondered if she was going to hate the answer. "Aside from the fact that when _Columbia_ is ready to go again we'll have three NX ships, four when _Discovery_ is finished in a few more weeks. We want you two to take point in retaking Starbase One."

"But..." She started, she had already been given a mission profile for once _Columbia_ was fully repaired.

"No buts, Captain. _Challenger_ will be taking _Columbia_'s assignment out to Onias. Dunsel is a good captain, but his crew is unexperienced, and we need clear heads and experienced minds in retaking S one."

Jonathan walked behind her, and she felt his hand slide into the familiar place in the small of her back before he leant forward a little and muttered quietly. "It makes sense Rike."

She thought it over for a second, and had to give it to the two of them, it did make sense that the two most experienced crews be the ones remaining on the front. "Alright, alright. I have to admit it makes sense."

"All of Starfleet is going to be taking their cues from the two of you, don't let us down." Sam's face told the unspoken order in that. 'Don't screw this up' prime among them.

"That's an interesting thought." Jon smirked, walking back around the room holding his arms wide as if he had nothing to hide. The symbolism made her laugh harder than she would have thought, but one look at Sam made her laugh even hard.

"I'm serious Jon. You two are going to be in the limelight even more than you already are, I trust you can keep a lid on things that should be private."

She didn't like the sound of the last sentence, and after a second of deconstructing his words she figured out what he meant. "In other words, you want to make sure that the press don't find out we're involved with each other."

"Officially, the two of you are nothing but colleagues, is that clear?"

"Crystal." She muttered, and she could see how unhappy Jonathan looked at that too. They had had no problem keeping their private lives separate from Starfleet for more than 16 years, and she saw no reason why suddenly it was such a big issue.

"Sam, you wouldn't even know we were together again had you not been a friend years ago." Jonathan pointed out, and Erika couldn't help but agree with that.

"What you two do privately is your business, just keep it that way. I'm willing to keep turning my cheek and pretending I know nothing. Make sure everyone else knows that." Sam turned on his heel and walked out of the room, leaving the two bemused captains looking at each other.

"That was a nice pep talk." She muttered sarcastically. Trying to the keep the humour in her voice, she wasn't sure what exactly she had been just ordered to do.

"Well, since officially we can't be seen together, how about you meet me for dinner at home tonight?" Jonathan joked, and she realised he was looking on the funny side of the meeting.

"Only if that dinner includes wine and desert." She smiled, knowing what he meant.

"When doesn't it." He smiled, and leant in to kiss her gently before leaving. There was nothing she hated more than feeling that she was being pushed into something she wasn't ready for. Being told she and Jonathan were the frontline commanders of Earth's fleet terrified her, but she was more afraid for Earth. Would she ever be the same after this. This was a war they were unprepared for, she would do all she could to protect her planet, and to do her duty, but there was a change coming, and she wasn't sure any of them were ready.


End file.
